October 17, 2003

Daily Camera

This isn't your father's a cappella — and that's exactly what Rol Sharette is trying to prove with his a cappella nights at the RedFish, a regular series designed to give vocal groups a foothold among Boulder's more rock-centric music clubs.

"People don't realize this," Sharette says, "but there's a good spread of a cappella groups that make a decent living traveling the country and performing. In a lot of cities, they'll have these series at restaurants on off nights. So I thought, 'Hey, we can try that here in Boulder.'"

"My initial intention for doing this was just to get some life and action into that back room on Monday nights," says Steve Shenk, RedFish's owner. "This just seemed like a good fit, and it's been great. It continues to build each week. It's a good family atmosphere, and I'd say once people come and see it once, they come back to all of the shows. "I probably get six to 10 people a night thanking me for putting this on as they walk out the door," he adds. "We've got a strong local following."

"I just admire their abilities," says one recent attendee, who turned into a repeat customer after her first trip to RedFish. "It's so hard to do what they do; you've got to know what you're doing. It's just so fun to watch the music they can make without any instruments." More